Gloag shares wonderful story about Roglic: "He couldn't even climb stairs, but was already thinking about the next stage"

Thomas Gloag, a Team Visma | Lease a Bike rider, shared an incredible insight into Primož Roglič's mentality in the podcast How To Become A Pro. At the 2023 Giro d'Italia, the Slovenian was the leader of the Dutch squad, and Gloag was a domestique. The young Briton, who experienced mostly bad luck so far, was amazed.

"Primož is an absolute killer on the bike, unbelievable," Gloag said. "He has a focus that you rarely see. After his victory in the final stage of the Giro, he sat quietly enjoying dinner, but at the same time, you could tell he was already focused on the next race. I just thought: you just won the Giro!"

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Gloag was completely surprised by Roglic's response: "That guy is crazy"

Quite early in that Giro, Roglič, among others, was involved in a major crash. For instance, Tao Geoghegan Hart, who was in great shape then, was there and didn't get back up. However, the Slovenian had also suffered a big blow, yet he didn't show anything. Only later did Gloag discover how bad the injury was. "After a long morning, we had to pick up our belongings on the eleventh floor of our hotel. We rushed because we had a long transfer scheduled," Gloag recalled. "Primož was waiting at the elevator, and I thought: this is taking too long.' A group of tourists were going in and out, and I told him we'd better take the stairs."

Roglič, however, stayed at the elevator and calmly explained. "Tom, I can't climb the stairs." I was stunned. He said it in such a calm way that I didn't even realize how much pain he was in. He didn't complain, he stayed focused.' What surprised Gloag even more was how, in the team meeting, Roglič immediately started talking about winning the next stage. "He literally couldn't climb stairs, but he talked like he was ready to race again. It was ridiculous. I thought: this guy is crazy. But that very confidence and determination make him a fantastic leader."

According to Gloag, relentless dedication is the key to Roglič's success. "He never switches off. He can work 365 days a year focused on his goals. That's incredibly inspiring for a teammate."

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